Crop

I want to say a HUGE thank you to those of you who attended my chat at 3Scraps tonite! I was a total wreck before hand but thanks to some special folks it was fun and I SO enjoyed myself! I hope you all enjoy the kit and the extra goodies as well! Remember the goodies are only good til morning and they will no longer be there! If you have had a problem with them please pm in the forum and if you were there I will sure be happy to help out!


I am so enjoying looking at the layouts in the gallery you all have posted so far!!! Great job!



Remember you have til midnite Friday night to get your layouts in for the free half!


If you missed the chat you can get the whole kit in the store now as well as the new alpha made to go with it! Check it out!

NEW ALPHA

Wanna Peek at one of the Freebies for the Chat?

Stop and chat on Thursday night June 28 at 10pm Eastern time for the Half n Half chat and even nab a few freebies! This is one of the gifties you can get! Can't attend the crop? Then look for it in the stores next week! Set of two A-Z alphabets! Hope to see you there!

Thanks to my scrapping bud Ronnie McCray for the magnifying glass! You rock woman!

Sneak Peek

Want a sneak peek at the ENTIRE StarBound Kit? See above!


Buy half and get the other half free when you post a layout to 3Scrapateers here by Midnight Eastern Time Friday June 29! If you can't then look for the full kit in the store at full price starting Saturday! Remember the Patriotic Holiday of the USA is fast approaching! But you don't have to have holiday photos to use it..just check out the gallery and see what others have done with it so far!





http://www.3scrapateers.com/gallerypp/showgallery.php/cat/1323

Half N Half at 3Scrapateers

Check out the Half N Half now up at 3Scrapateers!

StarBound

What is a HnH?

Purchase Half kit in the store for Half Price and post a layout in the HnH Gallery and you will get the other half of the kit free! Then Join me in the chat room on Thursday June 28th at 10 pm eastern time for some freebies and chat away! Hope to see you there!

Half-n-Half Kit Includes:
16 papers, 1 mat, 1 word overlay, 2 borders, 1 star chain, 3 bows, 4 buttons, 2 strings, 1 charmed tassel, gemstone clip and corners, buckle, tab, gemstone 5x7 wood frame, variety of wooden stars, metal staples, brads fabric stars, frayed and pewter stars and various pewter look charms all in a patriotic theme for your loved ones in the military as well as patriotic holidays and celebrations.

Full Kit that you can end up with contains everything!

24 12x12 papers in varying patterns, textures and prints2 5x7 wooden frames, large variety of pewter charms, fabric and wooden stars, buttons, gemstones, strings, clips, bows, ribbons, borders, corners, staples, brads, eyelets, tags and clip. From papers with patriotic prints all hand done in Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro to charm elements in a pewter finish or fabrics either plain, checked, frayed or other textures.All made with those special patriotic days, or holiday celebrations or those layouts of loved ones serving in the armed forces in mind.

Whether for fireworks or parades, celebrations or parties, or for those who are proudly serving the US at home or overseas, - This is a packed super kit filled with all of that in mind and more! The choices are endless--the possible numbers of layouts are limitless! This kit has anything and everything from the smallest staples to the large selection of papers and everything inbetween!

Update on Dog

They finally filed charges on someone in the death of my granddaughter's puppy in March. It turns out it was an 18 year old female high school student! We are glad that someone has finally been charged and sometime this week she is getting sentenced. It is a relief to know she was caught but still sad that it had to happen at all!

Food Memory

We lived out in the Chicago area for about 10 years and while working part time at a local pizzeria I came love Italian Beef Sandwiches! They still make my mouth water and they are difficult to find anyplace in Pennsylvania lol. Soooooooo I normally make my own and dear Lissa this recipe is for you! My kids and grandkids love it and many friends who have tried it come back for more so guess I am doing something right!

Italian beef sandwich recipe
All quantities are approximate - this is pretty much a list of spices, rather
than exact specifications - you'd really have to experiment to get the
quantities to match your personal taste.

1.5 - 2 lbs cooked roast beef, thinly sliced/shredded/shaven (shredded
is best in my opinion!) I usually use a good piece of beef since i hate fat
on my beef!
red pepper if you like it...i don't use it
black pepper
crushed garlic/garlic powder orsalt
oregano
basil
You can always try the preseason mixes instead

Put the roast beef in a pot, and put in just enough water to cover it. I do
mine all day in a crock pot or in a dutch oven in the oven. Add in the
listed ingredients, more or less to taste - I'd start with a teaspoon each
of the peppers, three or four good-sized cloves of garlic, and pretty
much however much basil, salt and oregano you feel like. I add a mess
of sliced green peppers or you can use the frozen chopped ones if you
need to. Just to get that green pepper taste which I love! Many like it
with the sweet hot peppers..just best to experiment!

Bring the beef to a low simmer, and let everything cook for a few
minutes and mix together. Taste the au jus, and adjust the seasoning if
need be. Cover and cook for a few hours on about 325 if in the oven or all day in the
crock pot til it falls apart is best for me!

Serve the beef on Italian or French bread, and ladle au jus over the
sandwich. (alternately, you can either dip the bread in the au jus before
putting the beef on it, or dip the sandwich as you eat it) If you like, top
the sandwich with cooked green peppers or giardiniera. I toast the
bread first then add the beef and peppers, ladle on some marinara or pizza sauce,
top with mozarella cheese and pop back under the broiler for minute to
brown up the cheese. Just my preference. Lots like it just with the beef
and peppers no sauce or cheese. Try it you may like it :-) Happy eating!



Sitting here listening to the song I have on here "Different World" by Bucky Covington has so totally hit home with me! I listen to all the advisories now and parenting advice and while much of it is good sometimes I think this world has gone overboard with our kids! We all did things and we are still here and kickin lol ...listen to the words and think about it some!

Different World
We were born to mothers who smoked and drank

Our cribs were covered in lead-based paint

No childproof lids

No seatbelts in cars

Rode bikes with no helmets

and still here we are

Still here we are

We got daddy's belt when we misbehaved

Had three TV channels you got up to change

No video games and no satellite

All we had were friends

and they were outsidePlaying outside
It was a different life

When we were boys and girls

Not just a different time

It was a different world

School always started the same everyday

the pledge of allegiance, then someone would pray

not every kid made the team when they tried

We got disappointed but that was alright
We turned out alright
It was a different life

When we were boys and girls

Not just a different time

It was a different world

No bottled water

We'd drink from a garden hose

And every Sunday,

All the stores were closed.

It was a different life

When we were boys and girls

Not just a different time

It was a different world

It was a different life

When we were boys and girls

Not just a different time

It was a different world
It was a different world

Yearbook scan

Bluff Ridge Elementary School used my America Today kit for their yearbook this spring! The kit is available at 3Scrapateers HERE

I was so honored and loved what their advisor did with it! Below are some scans of the yearbook but please note I have blurred out faces so it doesn't look as good as the real book does! Many thanks to Viola and her school for choosing my kit!

Change is good!

I sat over the last few days thinking about my blog and how sparse and compared to other blogs it is not what I wish it to be! It should be a reflection of how I see things or things I do not just a spot to hit and miss so with that in mind I am going to be doing some changing around here so bear with me! Think it will end up being more of a walk down the different lanes in my life from memory lane to designer lane and everything inbetween!!

I was so happy to have one of my kits used for a yearbook at an elementary school and will be posting some pics of it to share! The person in charge really did a lovely job using a kit from 3 Scrapateers called America Today! I have blurred out faces as I do not want to put other people's children on here without specific permission as it is a safety issue for almost all of us but it will give you a great idea of what this person did with a kit I designed! I am just so stoked about it!

GADS!

Gads I realize how long it's been since I updated this. Will have to catch up won't I?

Things have calmed down now that Cat's surgery is done so will catch up with all the news a bit later over the weekend with new products, sales and home soap opera lol.

Happy weekend!

Cruelty

I woke up this morning to a phone call from my oldest granddaughter that just made me ill. Her beloved puppy has been missing about a month and sadly they found it.. the horror of the find is what makes me so ill. To read about it you can go here
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/local_story_081234438.html
It seems some kids think killing animals is fun. Apparently there are several other missing pets in the neighborhood from what we understand and now police think that they also may be victims of the cruel individuals involved. My grand is only 11 and should not have had to have this happen in her life :-(. She's had enuf trials in her short life and is doing so well and I hate that she has had to deal with this so young. If anyone reading this happens to know anything please contact the local police dept in the article!
Here is the article if you don't want to go elsewhere... caution IT IS NOT GOOD!

Dog's killers sought
BY SANDRA K. REABUCK
The Tribune-Democrat

East Conemaugh police are investigating the death of a terrier whose neck was broken after it was placed in a washing machine with the power on. The dog, possibly a Jack Russell, was not wearing a license, and the identity of its owner has not been learned, police Chief Ronald Pavic said.“We believe that more than one person was involved,” he said. “These are sick individuals who would do this.” The police suspect juveniles were involved and are appealing to the public to call the office at 814-539-9908 with any tips about the crime. They are hoping the dog’s owner will call them. The dog was described as white with some brown and black. A dead squirrel was found in the clothes dryer, the chief said. Because squirrels are difficult to catch, authorities suspect it may have been found dead and used to lure the dog into the house’s basement.Pavic said dog feces found in the dryer indicate the canine may have been placed there first.The dog died of a broken neck, rather than drowning, because water was turned off inside the house.The animals were found when a woman who was moving into the house, in the 200 block of Oak Street, went to the basement after smelling a foul odor.The woman, whose identity was not released, had the electricity to the house turned on about three weeks ago but had not yet had the water service restored. The incident probably took place near the time the power was restored, the chief said.If the perpetrators are found, Pavic said police will file criminal charges, including cruelty to animals, maiming a domestic animal, abuse of an animal and criminal trespass.

Update

Well obviously I need to update here don't I!
Our Livy was here for a month from NZ and we so enjoyed her visit! The big problems came with some horrible ice and snow storms this past month along with some ISP issues I am having. We had temps below zero for over a week and this old bod of mine does not do well at all with normal cold weather let alone that cold. On top of it all we just happened to have 4 jars of the contaminated Peanut Butter--two of which we ate ( one I used for my cookies) which explains why we had so much stomach problems. I was in for a check at the dr's again this week and things are coming along and am feeling some better this weekend. I want to try to get some stuff all updated and get some things uploaded to my scrapping sites that I have been working on but kept getting stalled :-(. Somehow when ya don't feel so good it's hard to be creative ugh.
Have a great week!
Huggers
Jo

3 S News

Don't miss out on the contests now at 3Scrapateers!

REMINDER LAST DAY TO GET PEBBLES TWO BUCKS TWO BUCKS TWO BUCKS!

Point of View

I am sitting here trying to decide just how to vent! About what? Television ads!
I am a HUGE CSI fan and not only enjoy the new episodes but do look for the reruns on various tv stations. While I realize that commercials pay for networks or stations the recent rash of commercials that I find downright disrespectful and/or inappropriate on some of them just has me seeing red. The sad part is I don't know who to complain to or even if they care! I am so sick of seeing the commercials for "girls gone wild" version whatever..IF I WANTED to see some chic's chest flashed into my face I would rent a movie. I sure as bloody heck do not care to see it in the middle of a tv program! Nor do I want to see commercials for the guy call me guy hookup lines coming out of some stations in the larger cities. Sorry folks..there has to be a line someplace and it does not have a place on regular TV! Seeing a commercial with some chic (some of which do not look like they are 18 let alone 21!) fondling the girls on camera or licking her lips or kissing another chic while in their undies is just NOT what I need to see on a tv commercial! I am no prude dangit--I am a grown married adult with kids and grandkids and have been around the block but this is just WRONG on so many levels. Is there that much of a shortage of advertisers out there that these tv stations feel the need to air this kind of trash? What about the families who have munchkins that sneak awake in the middle of the night and think they are turning on cartoons and flip thru channels and see this garbage? THEY grow up fast enough without it being shoved in their faces too! I dozed off mid show one night and was awakened by a commercial of a guy calling another guy on a commercial for a male phoneline thing..Joy oh joy just what I wanted to see! NOT! Christmas morning I counted no less than 10 commercials for the girls gone wild videotapes during one hour of programming! THIS IS beyond RIDICULOUS! All I wanted was to watch a rerun of a show I had missed and what I got was alot of extra added trash I didn't care to see tyvm! I am not saying you need to agree with me I am venting --I am just sick of it. I remember why I stopped watching TV for awhile! Makes me wonder if I want to just dump it all together sometimes! Maybe those who just have a tv to watch movies they rent have the right idea. No commercials and no trash unless it's waht you want. I know they can't please everyone but have some standards for heaven's sake! Keep the trash where it belongs..in the trashcan! Just my two cents.

Layouts and New Products and Sales

I know I should probably change from a Christmasy setup but am gonna leave this one up a bit yet as I do love it

Worked on more layouts and uploaded new stuff to Digitals(see bottom of post) this past week so here ya go if you have a mind to look :-)

Have some of my word pebbles on sale at 3 Scrapateers so check them out while it lasts!

DREADED BLACK VELVET JUMPERS

Credits: Dana Frantz-From the Heart ScrapKit

MEMORIES OF MAGA 1

Credits: Dana Frantz--Butterfly Meadow and Time Passages Scrapkits

MEMORIES OF MAGA 2

Credits: Dana Frantz-Time Passages Scrapkit

FACE OF DETERMINATION

credits: Sue Jones--Christmas WordArt and Christmas Past QP's(colorized with Koyoto Color)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Up At DIGITALS

Jolene's Flakey (LOL thanks to Bunny Cates for it's name :-) )

Flakey Remix Alpha (matches Jolene's Flakey)

We're back

Well we are back and hopefully home to stay! Lots to catch up on of course.
They did find a small anuersym in dh's aorta which they are watching but have not gotten back the rest of the test results yet.
Cj is out of his cast and back to his "teenage boy" shenanigans again lol. Caitie's surgery won't be til summer so we can breathe for awhile. Liv is coming back to the states in two days YAY..cannot wait to see the lil munchkin. We have missed her terribly and while she will only be here for a month before they go back to NZ it will be so good to see her! I know this has been a great experience for her but this past year just seems like she's been gone way too long! I can so understand the frustration of grandparents whose grands all live far away. I am blessed that the rest of them are nearby and can at least talk to them on the phone if not see them fairly often. Miss Wiggle Butt of course isn't talkng on the phone yet but do hear her carry on lol and get to see her when I am up to it. Emily I ususally see weekly but havent seen her for a few weeks either now with having to be out of town! We will be celebrating Christmas this weekend with the girls since Liv will finally be here and YES we left up our trees and decorations and believe it or not Miss Em did not open her gifts on Christmas..she is waiting for her sister! I hope they always love each other that way!!!! I know Em adores both of her younger sisters and dotes on Scarlett when nobody is looking haha.
Started back into my scrapping swing of things. Put some stuf on sale at 3S and added new stuff at Digitals so stay tuned til I can get that posted as well as a mess of layouts I got done! Feels good to finally have time and energy to get something accomplished. Hopefully I can get my pixel site stuff updated and in full swing as well.
Have a wonderful week
Many hugs and blessings
Jo

Few more

Wow..just think if I can keep this up the amount of layouts I would get done by the end of this year lol. Here's 3 more I did last nite and this morning! I am so enjoying doing these. I came across a link for a site called NitWits and fell in love with their stuff as well as all the others I love so had to buy two of their ready made pages called Lickety Splits! Love how they came out! The other is a mix of Lianne at 3Scrapateers whose work I am a huge fan of as well as Sue Jones from Digitals wordaart and some others mentioned below. Thanks for looking! Happy New Year!


A Child and A Tree

Scarlett was so funny when the tree was up..she would wait til she thought nobody could see her and the scoot or crawl across the floor and then try to sneak a snowman off their tree! You can just see the twinkle in her eye..she KNEW what she was up to lol. Thanks for looking!
CREDITS
Journaling Font:Sans Logique
Marialafrance-doodley christmas felt tree-GottaPixel freebies
Marialafrance_doodley christmas squiggle tree-Gotta Pixel freebies
Cheryl Barber-love of my life corner--ScrapGirls
Lianne Carper-MLGWinter Brights Kit-3Scrapateers
Diane Miller-Jingle Special Swag-ScrapGirls
Sue Jones-Baby Quote Ribbon-Digitals




Pappy's Angel

Scarlett loves to tease and play and got her pap on the floor Christmas Day! She is so funny when she wrinkles up that adorable nose and pulls on something playing tug o war or when she eats her lil tongue comes out before she even gets a bite haha. Thanks for looking!
CREDITS
Font: Sans Logique
Crooked Halos Lickity Split by Kay Miller at NitWits




3 Lil Angels

Ok so their halo's are not showing lol. Scarlett was with her cousins in mid december and her aunt Trish got them all matching outfits! What a group of cuties...angels?-- well not all the time but to their grandparents Carol and Dave they are perfect of course!:-) Thanks for looking.
CREDITS
High Elf Esteem Lickity Split by Kay Miller at NitWits
Star by Jessica Gorny from Country Christmas Elements at Gotta Pixel freebies
Font: QTBasker

Of course I have to do some of Lil Miss Wiggle Butt for her First Christmas you know lol. These are just a few I got done..DH is a PSU fan and thank heavens I had some peace and quiet while the bowl games were on lol.

GO PENN STATE ;-)

So without further ado here is the munchkin's I have done so far!

DADDY N ME

Tracey took this super pic of Jim holding Scarlett on Christmas!

CREDITS IceAgeD font

Glenda K QP Digitals Christmas Collection

Rina Kroes-OctoberFields alpha 3Scrapateers

GOOD TO BE A CHILD

It's good to be a child at Christmas! The word art just seemed to fit some odds and ends Christmas Pics of lil miss wiggle butt :-)--She was a pure delight as always on Christmas and just makes us all smile no matter what!

CREDITS

Sleigh from Christmas Is Comin-Ginger Thibodeau--Digitals

Decorated QP--Glenda Ketcham-Digitals

Christmas Wordart-Sue Jones-Digitals

All Stitched Up Word Art-Heather Watson-Digitals

Hook from Xmas Bulb Frames--Kathy Smith-Digitals Christmas

Stick Pin-Rina- from the Christmas Crop Kit at 3Scrapateers

Brad by Daniela Austin-Yule Time Kit-3Scrapateers

Fonts: ScriptoramaHostessJF for Scarlett's Name on Sleigh

HANDS N HEART

Miss Scarlett of course lol. This is her first Christmas and I so love to watch lil ones with the twinkle in their eye this time of year!

CREDITS Fonts: Rendezvous and Shimmer Bold

Christmas bulbs,wa and papers by Ronnie McCray at SBE

Stars by Dana Frantz chennile accents at Digitals

I TOLD YOU SANTA WOULD

OK I JUST could not RESIST adding the journaling to this one lol. Scarlett's other grandparents got her a rocking horse for Christmas which she just loves and can ride for long long periods of time. It goes clip clop when you squeeze one ear and the other ear sings a song when you squeeze it! What a joy it was watching her play on this! She gets to jumping up and down to make it rock more and it scoots across the wood floors lol.

CREDITS

Christine Schultz-cinnamon swirl Alpha---Digitals

Erica Shoemaker-Christmas In July--Digitals

Glenda Ketcham-Sagebrush Buddies for tie-Digitals

Font- BritannicComDMed

CHRISTMAS JOY

What a joy it is having a wee one around at the holidays! This is her first Christmas and you can just see in her cute lil eyes how much she loved it!

CREDITS

GeeohHmk font

Sue Jones Qp from Digitals Christmas Collection 2005

All in all it was a lovely holiday this year. Peaceful and quiet for the most part..time for reflecting and getting ready for whatever the new year has in store for us! Dh has all his tests set in two cities next week so say a prayer and wish us luck that the worst of this is behind us and the new year will bring our family some good health and lots of love, happiness and joy!

MAY YOUR NEW YEAR BE BLESSED WITH ALL THAT IS GOOD!

Happiness and Hugs

Jolene

Layouts, Layouts and Layouts :-)

Was busy the past couple of days trying to finish some layouts that I had started but not gotten to finish. These 3 are from the stash of goodies my cousin sent me of my grandparents! What a treasure trove there is ...sooooooo many more to save and scan and research! I love finding out things that I didn't know or remembering pieces from my childhood because of them. Thanks for looking! Credits are listed below each one if this sets up correctly! Happy New Year!


Beautiful Summer
We found some awsome photos of my grandmother when my cousin sent me a box not long ago and am happily doing some scrapping! This was her...she was both beautiful inside and out we always knew but just had never seen these photos and they blew me away.


CREDITS
Pirouette LT Std font
Flea Market Alpha, Elements and Papers by Dana Frantz at Digitals




Family Heirlooms

Another found in the goodies of my gram's. I JUST LOVE this photo--those muffs are awsome!..she is in the middle and her cousins are on both sides. Louise was pretty much raised with her and they were inseperable. We had lost track of Millie but had located her back in the late 70s again so it was a wonderful rememberance for them all. I have vague recollections of Minnie but do remember Louise and her husband well as we visited them alot over my growing up years.

CREDITS:
Maddy Fernandez-- Turkish Delight Heirloom word art--Digitals
Loreta Labarca--DREAM AWAY Papers and Elements--Digitals
Dea Spina--corners from A Bit of Autumn--Digitals
Lori Wiley--feather colorized from the Build a Kit Challenge at 3Scrapateers
Journaling font: Alys Script Medium




Young Love

This one of my gram and gramps a few months before they were married just tickles me. You can see how much he adored her and he had that look til the day he died! They had almost 70 years together! How awsome that is!

CREDITS
Kelly Miller--Journey kit for wordart--Digitals
Graziela M--Soft Spring Papers and elements--formerly it was at Digitals
fonts: ScriptoramaHostessJF and Sans Logique

Good News and Uck News lol

Well I told ya my life is never dull!
On the GREAT NEWS--
Dh's surgeon's visit on Friday turned out extremely well and all is good on that part. We still have all the other tests Jan 8 and 9 but at least thru the Holiday we can breathe. Right about now I am exhausted but happy that the worrying is over on much of it and my stress level came down at least for now! I had more down days than up ones over this believe me! Am going to try to get some much needed FULL sleep in the next few days and hopefully my energy level will jump back up. Thank you to all my dear friends and family for their prayers and blessings for it surely worked!

On the UCK news--CJ slipped in the messy mushy snowy wet crap yesterday and we ended up taking him to the ER and yes you guessed it he broke something! He is hobbling on crutches and wrapped up til he sees the ortho surgeon tomorrow but the poor kid did not need this! At least football season is over but dang the kid already broke one thing this year you would think that was enough wouldn't you! He's much better painwise this morning but last nite my heart ached as he is not one to cry at his age(ya know teenage boys and the macho thing) but he did last nite in my car and I felt so helpless! Please just keep him in your prayers.His lil sister is due for her hip surgery in January so they sure can use alot of extra help that way.

I put up Holiday graphics as you can see lol --My thanks to Grandma's Attic for them as I JUST LOVE them and hope you all do too! I am thinking of moving it all over to WP but am so used to Blogger I can't decide hahaha.

To anyone who reads this blog of mine sparse as it is PLEASE have a Joyous Holiday Season and I wish you many blessings this upcoming year!
Happy Holidays
Love and Blessings
Jolene

Hit and Miss

I seem to be on a hit and miss here don't I?

Added a new kit called GingerSpice to 3 Scrapateers so here is a lookie.

Have to finish up some I have in the works but have been working on my pixel site as well as all the dang dr appts dh has and mine as well. VA is not known for speed but this is getting ridiculous..it's like hurry up and wait lol. I told them this week look just make all the appts for one week and he will take a week's vacation and get them all done..they promised to do so and call me back yesterday and guess what..yeah you got it--STILL no call back. I swear government red tape is giving me a breakdown :-(.


We are going to get snow and think it's going to stay around this time wah but I do like it for Christmas Eve and Day ..other than that I wish it would just go elsewhere haha. It was beautiful here today for the last of November..was in the 60s so I even got some decorating started.. I am slow at doing anything these days so I will be lucky to be done by Christmas at this rate! Sure makes me wish I had a fairy godmother who would purchase all new decorations and do my house up all gorgeous for me..WELL A GIRL CAN DREAM rotfl! Oh to have the bucks to do what I would like to..oh well hey it's still a good dream!

I changed the video to a beautiful song I came across by Blackmore's Night. I adore their regular music but this song and video really capture the Holiday Spirit I think! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Have a great weekend!

A bit of this and that

I put up some new elements exclusively at 3Scrapateers yesterday..just some fun things to add to pages. Have a series of them in the works so this is just a few to start with. There will be a sale going on at 3S this weekend so make sure you check it out!







I am trying to get back in the swing of things but it will be slow going so bear with me! I have some things in the works for Digitals as well so please check back often!


On the personal side the news on dh is so so..surgery is coming up for some"manly ills" they found and they suspect an aortic aneursym so he has to have all those wonderful heart tests done. He is such a stubborn pigheaded man he doesn't totally understand the importance and urgency of some of this and I can't seem to get it thru his thick head ..imagine that lol. Thus my stress levels go thru the roof... DD was in the hospital with breathing problems but is doing better thank heavens. Grandkids are all healed up and back to their ornery selves as usual haha. Caitie still faces surgery after the holidays but we are trying to not even think about that for now. The custody issues are going along..both sides working for the best of the young one FINALLY but her mom does not make it easy that is for sure. The good thing is she is spending more time with us and with her aunt as well as her daddy and stepmommy and sister and she had straight A's on her report card and won 1st place in all but one of her cheering competitions! That tells us all she is doing much better with dad than she did with her mother but getting her mother to admit it is another thing. She loves her I know but some people are just not meant to be mom's and don't know how to be nor want to be..it's just something that happens. It doesn't mean she doesn't love her..she just has different priorities than a normal mom has. Sad yes and I wish it were different but after 11 years I don't see her changing any sigh.


On a fun note I have been messing with and enjoying some of my old loves of pixel drawing and painting and collecting :-) so added a sub domain to mine called RayneDropps. Just a fun way to relax with no deadlines, no pressures..just fun stuff so if you have a mind to come on by!

On my RayneScraps site we found issues with some mean posters who wanted to send trash so have changed the permissions there etc so if you can't see the forums make sure you are registered. I really wish these spammers and trash people would find better things to do than mess with those of us who just want peace and quiet ya know!

Have a great Turkey Day to everyone here in the US that celebrates it!
Hugs and blessings
Jolene

Taking a break

With things stressing me so much lately and health issues I am taking a break from scrapping until mid November. I need time to recover from all the crap that bothers me of late and all the things that I have no control over but control me lol. I am gonna lay on the beach for awhile and just veg out and breathe! Hopefully the weather is cooperating while I am there but if not hey there are hot tubs and indoor lazy rivers! Hopefully when I get back I can be back to some sort of speed and in a creative frame of mind :-). I will be playing with some pixels as well working on that side of "crafting" and designing so don't be surprised what I add to my repitoire :-). I had forgotten how much I enjoyed that side of things as well so it's an exciting adventure for when I am back as well. I do have 6 kits in the making and some freebies as well so look for them when I am back. Have a great few weeks and if I don't post you know it's because the waves and sun are calling my name lol. Hugs and blessings Jo

TY and neat find

I want to say TY for all the comments :-) Nice to know someone actually sees what I put here lol. Ya all ROCK and I appreciate it!

I am not a big fan of gothic stuff but I am a huge Jewelry nut and I came across this site that I so totally fell in love with her jewelry so just thought I would share it for any of you who enjoy it!

http://www.artofadornment.ca/main.htm

This one really caught my eye for some reason lol!


I have all this old jewelry I inherited from my great grandmother as she was a costume jewelry nut and none of my other sisters care alot for jewelry so I totally enjoy it. When I was working I always wore it ...I LOVE it lol what can I say. I rarely get much chance now as I can't get out and about as I used to but with several granddaughters I sure hope one of them loves it like I do so I can pass them on :-). I did take some of the ones that were broken etc and use them for some of my scrapping so that is a definite plus :-).

I also found a really kewl set for Halloween if I was still dressing up for a party night it definitely would be superb to own altho I don't see it for sale anymore it's kinda kewl. Her ebay site has alot listed there to and NO lol I don't know her or plugging her..Just really liked her stuff for some reason.

I Was Tagged and didn't even know it lol

I got tagged by a Digitals Maddy and totally missed it! I am so SORRY Maddy!.. that means I will have to play catch up. lol.

List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets.
Tag 5 friends and list them.
Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people.

SOOOOOOOOOO here goes lol

1. I hiccup so loud they can hear me in the next county lol.

2. I used to snore but now I don't haha..have a cpap machine so that stops it but I do tend to look like something from an alien movie if you happen to come into my room when I am sleeping rotfl.

3. I sneeze in sets of 3. Dunno why but I can't just sneeze once...its always in sets of 3!

4. I have a "designer" cane in purple and black --looks like it's one of those papers they dip in oil and water to make a design. DH says if he left it up to me I would have one in every color to match my clothes !

5. I have no pets so that's no help is it --hmmmm thinking...of #5.......
My life is NEVER DULL --there never is a week that goes by that someone in my family does not have a crisis or emergency or some health issue. I WOULD love to have just a quiet uneventful life..my best friends keep telling me to write a book..Erma Bombeck did lol and look at the money she made!

Not sure I am tagging yet..know my bud Lissa will be one and of couse Wolfie bahbay lol . Gonna have to check who hasn't been tagged yet lol.

Thanks Maddy girl!

HAPPY HAPPY DANCE!

I AM SO STOKED! MY layout of Daltie was picked as layout of the day at GOTTA PIXEL this week on October 2! What a lovely honor it is! The members there are wonderful and always always comment on every layout and are very helpful when needed! They have a great site and I do love visiting it. They have a super staff as well that is well run and well put together! THANKS GP for making my day and my week!You can view their picks daily herehttp://www.gottapixel.net/blog/

Another Day and Challenge Starting

I told you life is never dull! I got a phone call and my db's f-i-l passed away suddenly with an anuerysm :-(. They had just gone to Hawaii on Sunday for a much needed vacation so I feel doubley bad for them. His "significant other" is a wonderful person we all love dearly and know this is a terrible loss for them both.

On another note Cody's big night ( Football game under the lights :-)) was cancelled last night due to a nasty lightening and thunderstorm that blew thru here. He was so disappointed as it was the only night game they play this season but they are trying to reschedule it this weekend either sat or sun night if possible so the team still gets that chance. It's funny how such a "small" thing like a night game can make a difference to these youngsters but it does! I think I can vaguely remember that lol. We played all afternoon games at my high school so it was a rare treat for us as well to have a night game back then as many stadiums did not have lights. When ds played in Michigan we had a huge mess of fundraisers just so the high school could put in lights to play night games.

There is just something about a crisp fall night game as opposed to an afternoon game for some reason!


I did up a two page layout of my darlin redheaded gs :-) in all his glory so here's a peek at it ..enjoy!




Credits are all mine cept for his name on page 1 ..that is Letterman Alpha by my buddy Ronnie McCray whose DT I am on. SHE ROCKS! She's on loa right now from designing as she has a beautiful brand new baby boy to enjoy and that sure does take priority over anything else naturally. He is a doll baby from the pics I have seen! Congrats again dear Ronnie!

On Page 2 it is actually a background I made for my Football Fever kit at Digitals ..I colorized it with Koyoto Color to go with his school colors as I did with Ronnie's Alpha as well. It made up a neat journaling page in my opinion as used the field lines as my paper. Just a spur of the moment idea I kinda like actually lol.


Had a marvelous checkup today so that part is good. I saw my pulmonary specialist and he was very happy with my tests and heart sounds so hey that's a good thing. AND I lost over 20 lbs so that is definite happy happy joy joy! I knew I had been losing it as had that dang stomach bug for two weeks on top of dieting so I was happy with that announcement from him as was he lol. He put me on another med this time tho for my allergies as the fall seems to really drive me nuts with sneezing fits and so far so good. I used it when I got home this afteroon and so far I can still actually breathe tonite without being stuffy! GO FLONASE lol.

Tomorrow starts my challenge hosting at 3 Scrapateers. It's called Remember When with Jo. Each Friday I will be posting a challenge to remember things either from your past or your ancestors past in a page. It won't necessarily require any pictures but journaling is a must so it may prove interesting I hope! I would love to see both photos and journaling but am leaving it up to those who choose to participate. Haven't finished a bonus to hand out yet as not sure what it will be but I promise ya will get some freebie of some type from someone lol. Maybe me, maybe another designer who knows. Be surprised haha.

well I rambled as much as I can for one time so have a wonderful weekend all!
Hugs and blessings

Life is NEVER dull!

To say my life is ever dull is just a non sentance! MY life is NEVER dulll--I would love to have a dull day or week or month or year lol.

We are still doing the ongoing tests with the VA for dh which thinks we have nothing better to do than travel 2-3 hours away for tests they could do on his day off rather than making him miss a day's work. He tends to get cranky when they keep scheduling the appts for mondays and tuesdays etc and they know dang well he works...guess who gets stuck in the middle? YEP that would be me as usual!

my ds got hurt at work and is suffering with cracked ribs and alot of pain and may actually be broken or he may have back and/or spinal cord injuries ..we don't know alot just yet..he has an MRI in the morning and had other tests this week as well as going to therapy most days. It makes it difficult at best to even play with his precious newest daughter our miss wiggle butt lol and to get his older daughter back and forth to school and cheerleading and not miss her events. Somehow tho between him and his wonderful wife they manage. Having a son who is a fireman is scary enough let me tell you and knowing he has a family it worries me even more but it is who he is, it is who he wanted to be and it is what he loves to do so as a mom I deal with but sometimes I sure wish he had picked a safer profession haha!

Our sweet Caitie had her trip to her specialist at Children's Hsptl and they are scheduling her for surgery after the first of the year again. She was so little when they did the first ones she doesn't really remember how bad it was..how close we came a few times to losing her...so is dealing with it matter of factly right now as she adores her dr. She is one of these rare kids who loves getting a shot! GO FIGURE! She gets very put out when they don't have to give her a booster shot lol. Her hip is what the issue is and while it has healed fairly well it is not growing as she is and without the surgery she will have more and more difficulty as she gets older with normal activities like running and playing let along doing the things she wants to do like gymnastics or ballet. The surgery is necessary yes but...as grandma I so wish and pray it would suddenly be normal to save her the misery I know is ahead after the surgery and while it reheals. They said they are going to put her in a cast as with 5 brothers and sisters there is too much change she could hurt it so that in itself will be a challenge and she will miss school for many weeks which she is not happy about as she loves school.

As for me ugh..same old same old--good days and bad days. The fall weather bringing the colder air is already starting to effect me more each day. I cannot wait to get to the beach and sit in the sun and hottub! Well not so much the sun since as a Lupus patient the sun is not my friend but still the warmth from it sure does these old bones good! The pain meds are taking some playing with to get it so that I have more than an hour at a time without being miserable but hopefully at some point it will work on a continuous basis. I am just kinda sick of taking 14 kinds of meds for all the crap I have been dealt but guess I should be grateful that they even are able to treat them with something rahter than just giving up as was done in" olden days". I know I am blessed with some caring dr's and that is definitely a plus but it took so long to get ones who heard me and cared enough to know where to find out what was causing me such agony.

SO there is my not so dull life this week lol.---stay tuned cuz who knows what next week will bring as there is always something trust me!

Happy over the hump day..hope yours was good!

I don't get much chance to watch movies but I took time tonite to watch The Lake House starring my favorite Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves . It took my breath away in a wonderful way! This so tops my favorite movies just for the content. If you are a romantic in any sense of the word you will love this movie. While yes it's not plausible it still catches you up in a love story that transends time and space. It's one that can make your heart melt and tears come up every so often in a good way. I found it just amazingly beautiful and will be watching this one over and over like several other Sandra Bullock movies I have. This is a winning combination of these two actors and the chemistry of the love story is awsome. For it me it goes up there with Somewhere in time starring Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour and with The Bridges of Madison County. Just good love stories--the sappy kind--the good kind that make you sigh and make you dream and wish for the kind of love they have. All in all some time well spent for someone who doesn't take time to watch tv or movies much lol. If you get a chance watch it..enjoy it! I sure did!

Freebie

Please take time to visit us over at THE UNTAMED SCRAPPER and read our newsletters called the VIEW FROM UNTAMED where our OCT one is located (Just click on the VIEW).


October:
Techniques of the Month
Envelopes and "Time" --You can check out my tutorial :-)

Color Scheme of the Month:

Olive, Kraft,Pink, and Coral --You can see my layout with the colors and the freebie that I did of my best bud Lissa and her dh ;-)



and my freebie gift here --

It will be gone Nov 1 so if you want it you best get it now. AND REMEMBER IT'S NOT FOR SHARING!

Please be an angel and don't be a pirate!

New Tut Up for Digi Envelope

Did a new tutorial for The Untamed Scrapper Newsletter and also at Digitals
"Making a Digital Envelope Template"
Here is an example of what I did with it :-)